Learn How to Cook Bacon in the Oven for perfectly cooked bacon every time! Enjoy delicious, crispy bacon and less mess with this oven-baked bacon recipe.

Photo of bacon on a white plate.

Crispy, slightly salty bacon is one of my very favorite foods! It’s so good in many other dishes and perfect eaten piece by perfect piece! So when I learned what has to be the easiest way in the world to cook the best, most evenly cooked, crispy bacon, I was hooked!

Learning how to cook bacon in the oven is an essential cooking tip that I think you’ll love! It is the perfect way to cook to serve with breakfast with scrambled eggs and biscuits or platters of amazing French Toast or buttermilk pancakes! You can make a lot at once, which also makes it great for recipes that use bacon, such as BLT Pasta Salad, and as a topping on a big, juicy hamburger.

How to Cook Bacon in the Oven Recipe

Cooking bacon in the oven is so simple. Once you make it this way, you won’t want to cook it any other way!

Photo of uncooked bacon on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Make sure you begin with a cold oven.

Lay the bacon slices in a single layer onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Additionally, you can place the bacon onto a wire rack and then place the wire rack onto a baking sheet if you prefer extra crispy bacon.

Photo of bacon cooked in the oven on a parchment lined baking sheet.

Place the baking sheet with the uncooked bacon into a cold oven. Turn the oven to 375º F and bake bacon for 15 to 20 minutes. The baking time depends on the desired amount of crispness for bacon.

Bacon on a white plate.

Transfer the cooked bacon to a plate for serving.

Benefits of Cooking Bacon in the Oven

There are so many benefits, I can’t even begin to think of them all, but here are a few main ones that come to mind.

  1. No hot bacon grease splattering me as I cook!
  2. Easy cleanup.
  3. Great when cooking for a larger group.

How to Render Bacon Grease

Photo of bacon grease being poured into a bacon grease container to use later.

Once you’ve cooked your bacon, remove it from the baking sheet and pour the rendered bacon grease into a container. You can use a metal, glass, or crockery-style container. I use a container designed for storing bacon grease that is fitted with a fine mesh strainer. If you use another style container, line a fine mesh strainer with paper towels and pour the bacon grease through the strainer to remove any bits of bacon.

Store the bacon grease in the refrigerator for three to six months and in the freezer indefinitely.

How to Use Rendered Bacon Grease

From time to time, I add rendered bacon grease to recipes where I would enjoy the depth of bacon flavor. These recipes include roasted vegetables, scrambled eggs, quiche, biscuits, and more.

Storage Tips

To make ahead. Cook and cool leftover bacon. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat and serve. 

To Freeze. Cook and cool. Store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, reheat, and serve. 

Cooked bacon on a white plate.

Here’s my Oven-Baked Bacon Recipe. I hope you love it as much as we do!

How to Cook Bacon Recipe

4.82 from 11 votes
Learn How to Cook Bacon in the Oven for perfect bacon every time! Enjoy delicious, crispy bacon and less mess with this oven-baked bacon recipe.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 6

Equipment

Ingredients 

  • 1 pound bacon
  • olive oil spray, optional

Instructions 

  • Arrange the bacon in a single layer on a parchment or aluminum foil-lined baking sheet.
  • If you prefer extra crispy bacon, place a wire rack on the baking sheet and spray it with olive oil spray. Place the bacon in a single layer onto the wire rack.
  • Place the baking sheet into a cold oven. Turn the oven to 375º F and bake bacon for 10-20 minutes, depending on the desired amount of crispness.
  • Remove from the oven and transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined platter to remove any excess drippings. 

Notes

To make ahead. Cook and cool leftover bacon. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Reheat and serve. 
To Freeze. Cook and cool. Store in an airtight, freezer-safe container for up to 1 month. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, reheat, and serve. 

Video

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 315kcal | Carbohydrates: 1g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 500mg | Potassium: 150mg | Vitamin A: 28IU | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 0.3mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Enjoy!
Robyn xo

Welcome to Add A Pinch

About Robyn

Robyn Stone is a cookbook author, wife, mom, and passionate home cook. Her tested and trusted recipes give readers the confidence to cook recipes the whole family will love. Robyn has been featured on Food Network, People, Southern Living, and more.

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Recipe Review




54 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    i love this idea on thanksgiving and xmas breakfast I need to cook a lot of bacon ,and to know that I can freeze it ,is wonderful ,this saves me a lot time thank you for the idea:)

    1. It’s perfect for making ahead and those times when you need to cook a lot of bacon! I’m glad this helps you too! Thanks!

  2. 4 stars
    I love this method of baking bacon, but I must be doing something wrong. I followed these directions and it isnt even close to done. I need at least a half hour for the bacon to be edible. Am I missing something?

    1. Hi William,
      I’ve not had this problem of it not being done in the time given in the recipe with these directions. Sometimes ovens vary in temperature from what the temp gauge says and they have to be recalibrated from time to time. Thicker cut bacon may require a bit longer to cook too. Hope this helps! Thanks!

  3. When cooking bacon in the oven does is platter all over the oven instead of the stove top?